The startup Nido Robotics S.L focused on the development, manufacture and marketing of underwater robots has also started the development of related payloads that help operations within the underwater environment. In this way, the startup has created a system with which the security of the users is increased. All this, at a competitive cost and by providing value to the users of the company.
The idea for the project was created in 2016 by the current CEO of the company, Roy Petter D. Torgersen. Previously, this entrepreneur was a captain in the Norwegian merchant navy and later specialized in the oil and gas sector. D. Torgersen has two exits from previous projects. At his side, Enrique González Sancho, executive director, and co-founder of Nido Robotics, is an industrial engineer, responsible for the design and direction of the R&D developments, while supervising the technical operations of the company.
The founders point out that the name Nido Robotics comes from a long brainstorming session where they looked for the meaning of the word “nest”. In the words of both co-founders, “a nest is a place to be born, to grow and to learn to fly, a part of our internal philosophy that tries to teach values within the human team where they can explore and discover new skills, respecting a culture of self-learning growth by sharing knowledge with the rest of the team,” they explain.
Currently, the company has a portfolio of awards from the first prize Startup of the year of Murcia Inicia from the City Council of Murcia 2017, the first prize of the awards Emprendedor XXI, granted by La Caixa, the first prize Aje, from the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of the Region of Murcia; to the winner of RobrUnion SuperStars 2019. Underwater robotics is a consolidated market in constant growth. In this sector, several companies with different business models based on a very specific technology and aimed at a very specific niche have been incorporated, with the result that numerous entry barriers have been installed with patented models and high manufacturing cost technologies. All this has resulted in an added cost when accessing the submarine robotics market.
However, the company has combined the whole equation in such a way that it has combined a business model based on technological differentiation and manufacturing cost control to be able to offer an accessible and safe solution that makes it possible to generate new processes and ways of working. In this line, part of the company’s activities is focused on allowing aggregations within the business network of the submarine sector.
Business model
The Nido Robotics S.L. system focuses on the manufacture and sale of products, as well as offering B2B services focused on differentiation in its value proposal and with a maintenance in price. In short, the company’s business prototype is Robots as a Service (RaaS). This is a subscription-based model that allows companies to access underwater robots to incorporate predictive maintenance and collect necessary data for a monthly fee that is less than half of a technician’s salary. In this way, no initial investment is required, providing an immediate ROI. In addition to this, plans include upgrades and maintenance. This is a model that is aligned with customer goals, “especially since the focus is now on results rather than products,” explain the founders.
Nido Robotics is currently based in Spain, where it manages the company’s operations. However, the expansion of Nido Robotics reaches a position of nearly 24 countries. Recently, the company has also established a headquarters in Santiago de Chile with the aim of running business operations in the country itself and throughout the LATAM area. “We chose Chile because underwater technology is very adapted to the operational processes of maintenance and supervision of submerged facilities in the aquaculture production sector that supplies products within the food chain at a global level. This structure of vertical growth forward allows us to open our own commercial offices with few resources, generating an acceleration in the internationalization of the company,” say the founders.
Investments
Launched in 2017 with an own investment of €30,000, the company carried out a “professional seed” type round that same year, with the collaboration of several experts and financial specialists, a software specialist, and a research scientist in nanotechnology. This raised nearly €25,000 for the firm. Subsequently, in 2018, Nido Robotics closed a pre-seed round with the entry of three business angels who are experts in lean manufacturing and business development, which resulted in €70,000 in funding. In 2019, the last round took place, with which the figure of €80,000 was collected through the participation of three investors.
In this way, Nido Robotics has devoted much of the capital to the growth of the firm, in terms of R&D in product development itself as in the development and expansion of the business. The next objectives that the company has set within its roadmap range from achieving part of the company’s revenue with the business model of Robots as a Service, to the consolidation of the company in LATAM and implementing a strategic office in the United States.